The Amazonia Arena in Manaus, the heart of the Brazilian rain forest,
has already gained infamy before a ball’s even been kicked on its pitch
at the World Cup.

Never mind the scandalous cost ($290m), the more pressing issue right
now is the state of the pitch, which resembles a cabbage patch just 2
days before its grand unveiling before the world, to host England v
Italy.

So the groundsmen have come up with an ingenious solution: they’ve
decided to spray paint the pitch green, which they hope will mask the
patchy brown, at least for 90 minutes.

Brazil last hosted the World Cup in 1950; even back then, this would have probably been deemed a pretty primitive measure!